What would be your reaction to a mean agnostic that got in your face trying to convert you?

Question

We never see an agnostic trying to convert anyone, the pattern seems to be that an agnostic is someone like me, a reverse snob who simply says why do you believe what you do and sorta just keeps going until the other person has "faith" and no evidence.

Not that this is snobbish, but its "reverse snobbish".

Its like Socrates, he went around Athens saying, "why do you think x, y, z," and just kept going till he proved them an foolish. Hence the Socratic method.

Socrates was poisoned. Think that has anything to do with it?

Do you want to poison jim_darwin? In the library?

Answer 1

I hope I haven't been a mean CHRISTIAN getting in your face trying to convert you, Jim. I've responded to questions that you've explicitly directed to believers. Neither have I perceived you to be a mean agnostic getting in my face trying to convert me--the nature of your questions invited me, rather than forced me, to come to your Q&A. I have not yet been reduced to the sorry state you describe by any reverse snobbery on your part. In fact, I feel a little bit high each time I am invited to write about Jesus, the one I love, and I am grateful to you for the opportunity.

There HAVE in fact, been some other "mean" agnostics/atheists in YA trying to convert me, sending me unrequested emails because they'd seen an answer I'd left (for another Christian), leaving unkind, unhelpful, and undocumented answers to questions I'd directed explicitly to Christians, describing Jesus with vulgar language and images that would cause the hackles on *YOUR* neck to come up if someone *YOU* loved were the object of such attacks. But in most cases, those little bits of unpleasantness have been eradicated through mutally friendly emails, or self-deprecating humor, or the assignation of "Best Answers" that crossed the lines of philosophical allegiances.

POISON you? In the LIBRARY???! Catch a CLUE, jimbo! I'd never do that.

Answer 2

Socrates poisoned himself, rather than be exiled from his beloved Athens for having 'corrupted' the Athenian youth with his teachings on philosophy. Or so the story goes, whether it's entirly true I am not sure. However, to answer your second question "Do you want to poison jim_darwin in the library?" (religious section) I'd emphatically want to say no. If he should however poison himself, rather then be thrown out of a churches library, we would elect him saint ;o)

Answer 3

I'm agnostic and I would never try to "convert" any one but I am the subject of much needed conversation to a few of my acquaintances. I found out I was a project by a person and his "Church Family".Ive never been a project before ,lol at least to my knowledge. They began by sending me all types of religious mail and progressed to small gifts left in my office.The gifts were again of a religious nature.Then I was cornered by 5 people at a fund raiser for a local mans family .They ignored the sadness of the event and began loudly praying for my eternal soul,and trying to place their hands on me to heal me of the affliction of agnosticism. I was the center of their attention and it became a tad frightening as they became more aggressive.My husband ,who had just arrived ,came to my rescue and was very irate at the actions of theses people. I was shaken only by the aggressiveness and zealot like actions.We left the fund raiser and talked long into the night about this incident.
I do not advertise my beliefs,or talk down to anyone of any faith,I feel I was unjustly targeted and treated very unfairly.But life goes on ,but there are those that do try to force conversation on others.

Answer 4

People are always jealous of and angry with those who make them feel foolish (not necessarily look foolish). I believe Socrates poisoning could have very well had a lot to do with his superior logic abilities.

No I don't want to poison you; I'd much rather learn from you.

Answer 5

well it is a rare thing to see an "active" or evangelist agnostic, because you'd be preaching sitting on the fence. Those of us on one side or the other typically argue the same points you would via the other side of the fence but we also have the joy of developing our own responses from your questions. The Socratic method is great from a perspective of questioning others, but when turned on the self it becomes stagnant, a constant back and of "why" followed by "why not" followed by "why do you say why"? your uncertainty is entitled as is your questioning of both sides, but it kind of takes you out of the race of the main debate. Sensible people on both sides can argue for themselves or also play devil's advocate when against each other or engage the other side without having to worry about objectivity as it shjould be achieved by the other side's questions of you.

Wandering off the track there I would think a mean evangelical agnostic rather silly because they would have lost the plot on their stance which as you mentioned is a objective questioning of both sides and the fence dividing them, not to convert people to the fence.

Answer 6

Can an atheist/agnostic be a religious martyr? Are you corrupting the youth? Socrates tried to remove foolishness, not point it out. He claimed to be a kind of midwife (his words) delivering the wisdom already present in others, even if that delivery included pain of self inquiry. It's the constsnt mirror in the face that people objected to. Ultimately what he was killed for was his insistance that he be given laurals for his work when they asked him what punishment he thought suitable. Y/A! is not the Agora, but it seems people still dislike the mirror. I say tough!

Answer 7

Was it Socrates who said, you can kill me but you can't eat me?

In any case there's a certain excitement to living with uncertainty, a continued sense of mystery, a continued effort to unravel the conundrum (and they ARE raveled), and that's really what our brains are meant to do. The various true believers are missing out on the very essence of living these all too brief lives. As the Englishman said in the old Stanley and Livingston joke: Pity!

Answer 8

Socrates killed himself and he went around making people look foolish to prove that knowledge and wisdom are separate things.

He would go to a baker and ask about baking proving his wisdom and knowledge in that subject then ask about the Gods and what they wanted from him when the baker answered he would ask how he knew this and no matter what answer he gave it would be wrong since you can't prove the existence of Gods or thier intensions.

Answer 9

I thought agnostics didn't know what to believe in so they just deny the existence of everything. Convert to atheism wouldn't be much of a change.

Answer 10

lol first off im agnostic, and sadly if any "agnostic" tried to convert you they werent really agnostic. agnostics only belief is that there is no proof of gods existance, and no proof of lack of existance. we dont have a set belief in a certain god, or a set belief that there is no god, biggest thing that bugs me, people think agnosticism is atheism. its completely different.

we would have nothing to convert you into other then an open-minded person who can see things from different views, and thats not really converting, it'd be more called, enlightening